Letter of the Day: Children will suffer

| June 20, 2014

<b>Children will suffer</b>

EDITOR: Anti-fluoride activists have succeeded in getting water fluoridation on the ballot in Healdsburg so voters can decide if this is a good idea. It has been in the city's water for decades already.

About 75 percent of the major cities in the United States have fluoridated water, and it has been studied extensively and endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control, the American Dental Association and many other credible agencies. It occurs naturally in the water in some areas of the country, and it was studied because scientists were trying to figure out why people in these areas had such low tooth-decay rates.

So, this Healdsburg vote has a logic that partners well with the concept of not vaccinating children. Ignore the peer-reviewed science and studies, and go with some personal belief that puts children at risk.

Increasing dental decay rates can go along with measles, whooping cough and, maybe, polio returning. If fear, not fact prevails, then it's the children who suffer.